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Miscommunicated or plain ignorant?

I know I haven’t been blogging for months and had no intention to unless my laptop’s disc drive is in a better condition (loads of pictures to be transferred from my camera and mobile phone but limited memory at disc C – later on to be transferred to disc D). So, what makes me return? Well, here’s the story:

Yesterday morning at around 11am I went to my local council library to get my daily dose of newspaper reading (and I’m still not used to reading online news – that’s why I hardly read Kompas.com, apart from the sometimes stupid remarks by other readers and too much advertising). While I was reading, a guy of African descent came and asked for a library card. I’m not sure whether he was asking for library membership or a new card.

The librarian who served him asked for his proof of residence, which can be a letter (bill etc.), and proof of his identity, meaning something that has a photo of that particular person and his/her identity. I’m not sure whether the guy didn’t understand what the librarian was saying or he simply wanted a shortcut to get his library card. He asked the librarian to call his ‘boss’ (given in a name card) to identify him.

Asking someone else for verification of identity is outside the rule, so she refused to do what the guy asked. She said that she needed a photo ID for verification. Here, things started to get repetitive. The guy insisted she must call his ‘boss’. And she kept saying the same thing.

When a postman came to deliver mail to the library, the librarian excused herself to get the mail. Soon after, the guy kept repeating the same thing. The other librarian, who was on the other side of the counter, chatted to a patron saying that she had told him like 5000 times.

The guy kept on insisting saying that his ‘boss’ could verify his identity but the librarian said even if his ‘boss’ could identify him, she wouldn’t know it was the real ‘him’. Then, the guy started talking in a threatening tone.

A patron came into the scene and asked him to leave because the librarian was already acted very nice to him but he refused to cooperate. He replied that it’s none of her business. The librarian thanked the patron (I believe for standing up to her) and the patron left the scene (though she was still in the library). The guy also thanked her (I believe for cooperating with him yet he didn’t want to cooperate with council library policy).

When the librarian got fed up, she said that she wouldn’t call his ‘boss’ but rather the police. The guy then started complaining about the library and the council. After I finished reading the papers, I left the library hurrily because I was scared the scene would turn bloody.

A few seconds after I left, the guy walked out of the library as well. He later complained to his friend who was sitting down, smoking at the bus stop outside the library.

He wanted people to cooperate with him but he refused to cooperate with council’s policy. Which part of photo ID did he not understand? Did he know that if he got a preferential treatment, then all other people (ratepayers) should also be treated the same as him? Which in turn will lead to chaos if it’s not done properly.

The same thing for me, I refuse to believe that all Indonesians are corrupt. Those corrupt Indonesians who destroy the systems should be punished heavily for what he/she did. Whether he/she feels ashamed about it is another story. What matters is that this corrupt behaviour should not be normalised which later on will become a culture.

If you don’t follow the rule, too bad, you should be punished (watched ‘Contagion’ yet?). If you do follow, good on you. But if you don’t follow, was it because of miscommunication or you were simply being ignorant?

Miscommunication – sorry, shit happens; it can’t be helped if this occurs
Ignorant – this is a disease and should must be killed

P.S.: I may not be the smartest person in this universe but I want to live my life with integrity & dignity, so if you try turn me into a bad boy and I turn your invitation down – that’s too bad!